The United States will again co-sponsor this important resolution on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and urge all Member States to support it. The United States government, like many of the other states here today, is deeply concerned about human rights violations in the DPRK. The UN Commission of Inquiry has determined that these violations constitute, in many instances, crimes against humanity, and that they are committed “pursuant to policies established at the highest level of the State.”

The United States thanks Japan and the European Union for introducing a resolution that holds the DPRK accountable for its serious and ongoing violations of human rights. We support the extension of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, and look forward to the establishment of the OHCHR office in Seoul. We note that this resolution calls for a panel on the human rights situation in DPRK. Victims’ voices are what made the Commission of Inquiry report on the DPRK especially powerful, and it is a worthwhile endeavor for the Council to hear them firsthand.

The DPRK is among the world’s most pervasive deniers of freedoms and violators of human rights. As such, Member States should vote YES on this resolution, which condemns the systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights in the DPRK. Thank you, Mr. President.